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Dirk DePagter talks to Kate Wadley about Hotel Columbia's donation to Telluride Medical Center's Feast. See the videocast at the end of this article.


Dirk DePagter remembers Telluride's wild and wooly days of the 1970s. A  master carpenter/contractor back when, he was hired to do the remodel that transformed a shed owned by the Idarado Mining Company into the building that is now the Telluride Medical Center. What remains of his handiwork is the eastern part of today's structure.

Dirk, who became a developer, is now the proud owner of his first hotel: he and his partners purchased the Hotel Columbia from close friends Jim Lincoln and Jeff Campbell in January 2008.

07 March, 2009 /

Telluride's Nugget Theatre will be showing three films this week, March 6-12. See below for showtimes, and the Nugget website for more information.

Pink Panther 2 is a remake of the wonderful Pink Panther comedy series of years ago, with Steve Martin in the role of Peter Sellers' Inspector Clouseau. Sight gags and silly humor are the order of the day. To see a trailer go to apple.com/trailers.

Revolutioary Road, set in the 1950s, illuminates the suburban angst of Frank (Leonardo DiCaprio) and April (Kate Winslet). Richard Yates' 1962 critically reviewed novel was intended as an indictment of '50s American conformity at all costs. The trailer can be viewed at apple.com/trailers.

Frost/Nixon reprises David Frost's 1977 television interviews with Richard Nixon. The film stars Michael Sheen as Frost, and Frank Langella as the disgraced former president. Sheen and Langella played those roles in the theatre productions of this work in West End, London, and on Broadway. To see the trailer of this powerful portrayal of a significant peice of American history: apple.com/trailers.


07 March, 2009 /

Gritty, soulful guitar slinger/songwriter Tony Rosario is the opening act for the KOTO concert at Telluride's Sheridan Opera House, featuring The John Cowan Band. His hard-hitting acoustic band is Trutone & The Pour Boyz.Tony’s claim to fame includes stints with seminal rock group Firefall,...

06 March, 2009 /

[click "Play" button to hear Susan's conversation with John Cowan]John Cowan was only 21 when he joined Telluride Bluegrass Festival sensation, New Grass Revival, which  also featured the redoubtable talents of Sam Bush, Bela Fleck and Pat Flynn. For...

06 March, 2009 /

One thing Telluride people love to do is dress up (or cross): witness Halloween, 4th of July parade, Chocolate Lovers' Fling, etc. The In-Drag Race is an annual tribute to TAB's muse, the late Robert Presley. This year's event, another good example, was held on...

05 March, 2009 /

[click "Play" button to hear Susan's conversation with Susan McCormick]

Susan McCormick at Telluride's Stronghouse Studios:

Susan 2003 Susan McCormick is a longtime local who generally maintains a low profile around town. March 5 will different. It will be Susan's once a year day, when her latest paintings go on display at the Stronghouse Studios, 283 South Fir Street, part of the monthly First Thursday Art Walk.

Susan arrived in town in 1979.  Husband Brian works at the water and waste water plant and skis "about one million vertical feet" on the mountain year after year. Susan, a non-skier, lives for the summer festival season and the music, especially Bluegrass. Over the years, like so many locals, she worked a number of jobs: ski Winter Bridge Small area ticket office, Resort Rentals (now ResortQuest) and as realtor T.D. Smith's assistant. For the past seven years, she has collected her paycheck from Jack Wesson and Ben Jackson, owners of Telluride Realty.
The past four years, Susan has also served as a board member on the Telluride Council for the Arts and Humanities, the non-profit voice of the local art scene and sponsor of Art Walk.

Susan began painting as a young girl, inspired by a talented aunt. Today, she works in watercolor and oil to capture the beauty of the Telluride region. She also paints florals and abstractions. What links the disparate themes is a passion for exploring color in seamless and surprising combinations.

04 March, 2009 /

The Telluride Adaptive Sports Program holds its annual "Goin' Cowboy at the Opera" Friday evening, March 6, 6:00 pm until 11:00 pm. Music is by the great Anders Brothers Band, and there will be a live and a silent auction. Check out the TASP website...

03 March, 2009 /

FEAST baskets 005 Dr. Jeff Ptak wears two hats in the Telluride community: he is a board certified plastic surgeon with a private practice and the dermatologist at the Telluride Medical Center. In both contexts, however, he regularly confronts the vicissitudes of altitude and aging on skin and finds solutions.

Dr. Ptak first visited the Telluride region 40 years ago. Since then, he has watched the community grow and change, and the town's small "clinic" grow into a Medical Center now bursting at the seams, just as the demand to deliver more and better state-of-the-art services is growing.

01 March, 2009 /

Leonardo da Vinci, an influence, had the Mona Lisa, and Roger Mason has the New Sheridan, his muse, and its setting, the town of Telluride. The New York-based painter has merged with the hotelscapes and townscapes he paints over and over again. Main Street is his local studio, where the artist stands determined to capture the fickle light as it hits our buildings, lamp posts, cars, street life, and mountains.

Roger has generously donated two posters enhanced with paint, one of his "muse," another a town scene, to  Kate Wadley's FEAST, Fund for Expanding and Supporting Telluride's Medical Center.

To understand what Roger is up to in his work, it helps to understand his influences.

01 March, 2009 /

Best of luck on this Big Weekend to Telluride AIDS Benefit key players: TAB boardmember/AIDS activist Ron Gilmer, TAB boardchair Jodie Shike Wright of ONE Architects and fashion show director/New York director Shawn Rozsa.(Jen Koskinen photo) ...

28 February, 2009 /